Smaller Economies See Big Opportunities in Digital Trade Pact
Voice of America
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA - In a world replete with international economic and trade organizations — most of them best known by acronyms such as WTO, OECD, APEC, ITO, TPP and MERCOSUR — who needs one more?
Apparently Canada, which is eagerly seeking to join Chile, New Zealand and Singapore in a new grouping known as the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, or DEPA. The three DEPA signatories are still considering Canada's bid to join the partnership, which entered into force just three months ago, although Chile must still ratify its participation. Other countries interested in joining include Japan, South Korea and Britain. DEPA's appeal, according to analysts, lies in its narrow focus on digital issues and the fact that there is no huge economic power among its members to dominate discussions and drown out the smaller countries.FILE - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia attends a summit in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 15, 2024. FILE - Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam speaks in Kismayo, Aug. 22, 2019. FILE - Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni speaks in Garowe, Puntland state, northeastern Somalia, Jan. 25, 2024.
FILE - A family rides past a decoration in the shape of the national flags of China and Pakistan installed along a road ahead of a visit by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Lahore, Pakistan, July 30, 2023. FILE - Volunteers transport the coffins of Chinese nationals from a hospital following a suicide attack in Besham city in the Shangla district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on March 26, 2024. FILE - Security officials work on the site of an explosion outside Karachi airport, Pakistan, Oct. 7, 2024. The attack, claimed by Pakistani Baloch separatists killed two Chinese nationals.